Linter Visual Studio Code



Once you’ve nailed catching accessibility issues in your source code, try expanding your test coverage by testing in the browser with the free axe browser extension. Once the plugin is installed, axe Linter installs and configures itself automatically. This can sometimes take a few minutes. LanguageTool Linter for Visual Studio Code Grammar, Style and Spell Checking in VS Code via LanguageTool. Support Markdown, MDX, HTML, and plain text files. In memory of Adam Voss, original creator of the LanguageTool for Visual Studio Code extension.

  1. Vs Code Linter
  2. Visual Studio C# Linter
  3. Linter Pylint Visual Studio Code
  4. Vs Linter
  5. Javascript Linter Visual Studio Code
  6. Visual Studio Code Edit Linter Rules

Linting highlights syntactical and stylistic problems in your Python source code, which oftentimes helps you identify and correct subtle programming errors or unconventional coding practices that can lead to errors. For example, linting detects use of an uninitialized or undefined variable, calls to undefined functions, missing parentheses, and even more subtle issues such as attempting to redefine built-in types or functions. Linting is thus distinct from Formatting because linting analyzes how the code runs and detects errors whereas formatting only restructures how code appears.

By default, stylistic and syntactical code detection is enabled by the Language Server. If you require third-party linters for additional problem detection, however, you can enable them by using the Python: Select Linter command and selecting the appropriate linter. You can easily enable and disable all linting by using the Python: Enable Linting command.

Enable linters

To enable linters other than the default PyLint, open the Command Palette (⇧⌘P (Windows, Linux Ctrl+Shift+P)) and select the Python: Select Linter command. This command adds 'python.linting.<linter>Enabled': true to your settings, where <linter> is the name of the chosen linter. See Specific linters for details.

Enabling a linter prompts you to install the required packages in your selected environment for the chosen linter.

Note: If you're using a global environment and VS Code is not running elevated, linter installation may fail. In that case, either run VS Code elevated, or manually run the Python package manager to install the linter at an elevated command prompt for the same environment: for example sudo pip3 install pylint (macOS/Linux) or pip install pylint (Windows, at an elevated prompt)

Disable linting

You can disable all Python linting with the Python: Enable Linting command, which shows a dropdown with the current linting state and options to turn Python linting on or off.

Run linting

To perform linting:

  • Linting runs automatically when you save a file.
  • Open the Command Palette (⇧⌘P (Windows, Linux Ctrl+Shift+P)), then enter and select Python: Run Linting.
Change

Issues are shown in the Problems panel and as underlines in the code editor. Hovering over an underlined issue displays the details:

General linting settings

Vs linter

The remainder of this article describes settings for linting in general as well as specific linters. You can add any of the settings to your user settings.json file (opened with the File > Preferences > Settings command ⌘, (Windows, Linux Ctrl+,)). Refer to User and Workspace settings to find out more about working with settings in VS Code generally.

To change the linting behavior across all enabled linters, modify the following settings:

FeatureSetting
(python.linting.)
Default value
Linting in generalenabledtrue
Linting on file savelintOnSavetrue
Maximum number of linting messagesmaxNumberOfProblems100
Exclude file and folder patternsignorePatterns['.vscode/*.py', '**/site-packages/**/*.py']
Linter Visual Studio Code

You can easily change python.linting.enabled by using the Python: Enable Linting command.

When enabling lintOnSave, you might also want to enable the generic files.autoSave option (see Save / Auto Save). The combination provides frequent linting feedback in your code as you type.

Specific linters

The following table provides a summary of available Python linters and their basic settings. Only Pylint is enabled by default. For descriptions of individual settings, see the Linter settings reference.

LinterPackage name for pip install commandDefault stateTrue/false enable setting
(python.linting.)
Arguments setting
(python.linting.)
Custom path setting
(python.linting.)
Pylint (default)pylintEnabledpylintEnabledpylintArgspylintPath
Flake8flake8Disabledflake8Enabledflake8Argsflake8Path
mypymypyDisabledmypyEnabledmypyArgsmypyPath
pydocstylepydocstyleDisabledpydocstyleEnabledpydocstyleArgspydocstylePath
pycodestyle (pep8)pycodestyleDisabledpycodestyleEnabledpycodestyleArgspycodestylePath
prospectorprospectorDisabledprospectorEnabledprospectorArgsprospectorPath
pylamapylamaDisabledpylamaEnabledpylamaArgspylamaPath
banditbanditDisabledbanditEnabledbanditArgsbanditPath

To select a different linter, use the Python: Select Linter command. You can also edit your settings manually to enable multiple linters. Note, however, that using the Select Linter command overwrites those edits.

Custom arguments are specified in the appropriate arguments setting for each linter. Each top-level element of an argument string that's separated by a space on the command line must be a separate item in the args list. For example:

Note that if a top-level element is a single value, as delineated by quotation marks or braces, it still appears as a single item in the list even if the value itself contains spaces.

A custom path is generally unnecessary as the Python extension resolves the path to the linter based on the Python interpreter being used (see Environments). To use a different version of a linter, specify its path in the appropriate custom path setting. For example, if your selected interpreter is a virtual environment but you want to use a linter that's installed in a global environment, then set the appropriate path setting to point to the global environment's linter.

The sections that follow provide additional details for those individual linters linked in the table. In general, custom rules must be specified in a separate file as required by the linter you're using.

Pylint

Pylint messages fall into the categories in the following table with the indicated mapping to VS Code categories. You can change the setting to change the mapping.

Pylint categoryDescriptionVS Code category mappingApplicable setting
(python.linting.)
Convention (C)Programming standard violationInformation (green underline)pylintCategorySeverity.convention
Refactor (R)Bad code smellHint (light bulbs)pylintCategorySeverity.refactor
Warning (W)Python-specific problemsWarningpylintCategorySeverity.warning
Error (E)Likely code bugsError (red underline)pylintCategorySeverity.error
Fatal (F)An error prevented further Pylint processingErrorpylintCategorySeverity.fatal

Default Pylint rules

Python in Visual Studio code is configured by default to use a set of linting rules that are friendly to the largest number of Python developers:

  • Enable all Error (E) and Fatal (F) messages.
  • Disable all Convention (C) and Refactor (R) messages.
  • Disable all Warning (W) messages except the following:
    • unreachable (W0101): Unreachable code
    • duplicate-key (W0109): Duplicate key %r in dictionary
    • unnecessary-semicolon (W0301): Unnecessary semicolon
    • global-variable-not-assigned (W0602): Using global for %r but no assignment is done
    • unused-variable (W0612): Unused variable %r
    • binary-op-exception (W0711): Exception to catch is the result of a binary '%s' operation
    • bad-format-string (W1302): Invalid format string
    • anomalous-backslash-in-string (W1401): Anomalous backslash in string
    • bad-open-mode (W1501): '%s' is not a valid mode for open

These rules are applied through the following default arguments passed to Pylint:

These arguments are passed whenever the python.linting.pylintUseMinimalCheckers is set to true (the default). If you specify a value in pylintArgs or use a Pylint configuration file (see the next section), then pylintUseMinimalCheckers is implicitly set to false.

For the complete list of Pylint messages, see readable-pylint-messages (GitHub).

Command-line arguments and configuration files

See Pylint command-line arguments for general switches. Command-line arguments can be used to load Pylint plugins, such as the plugin for Django:

Options can also be specified in a pylintrc or .pylintrc options file in the workspace folder, as described on Pylint command line arguments.

To control which Pylint messages are shown, add the following contents to an options file:

You can easily generate an options file using Pylint itself:

For PowerShell you have to explicitly specify a UTF-8 output encoding:

The generated file contains sections for all the Pylint options, along with documentation in the comments.

pydocstyle

Command-line arguments and configuration files

See pydocstyle Command Line Interface for general options. For example, to ignore error D400 (first line should end with a period), add the following line to your settings.json file:

A code prefix also instructs pydocstyle to ignore specific categories of errors. For example, to ignore all Docstring Content issues (D4XXX errors), add the following line to settings.json:

More details can be found in the pydocstyle documentation.

Options can also be read from a [pydocstyle] section of any of the following configuration files:

  • setup.cfg
  • tox.ini
  • .pydocstyle
  • .pydocstyle.ini
  • .pydocstylerc
  • .pydocstylerc.ini

For more information, see Configuration Files.

Message category mapping

The Python extension maps all pydocstyle errors to the Convention (C) category.

pycodestyle (pep8)

Command-line arguments and configuration files

Vs Code Linter

See pycodestyle example usage and output for general switches. For example, to ignore error E303 (too many blank lines), add the following line to your settings.json file:

pycodestyle options are read from the [pycodestyle] section of a tox.ini or setup.cfg file located in any parent folder of the path(s) being processed. For details, see pycodestyle configuration.

Message category mapping

Linter pylint visual studio code

The Python extension maps pycodestyle message categories to VS Code categories through the following settings. If desired, change the setting to change the mapping.

pycodestyle categoryApplicable setting
(python.linting.)
VS Code category mapping
WpycodestyleCategorySeverity.WWarning
EpycodestyleCategorySeverity.EError

Prospector

Command-line arguments and configuration files

See Prospector Command Line Usage for general options. For example, to set a strictness level of 'very high,' add the following line to your settings.json file:

It's common with Prospector to use profiles to configure how Prospector runs. By default, Prospector loads the profile from a .prospector.yaml file in the current folder.

Because Prospector calls other tools, such as Pylint, any configuration files for those tools override tool-specific settings in .prospector.yaml. For example, suppose you specify the following in .prospector.yaml:

If you also have a .pylintrc file that enables the too-many-arguments warning, you continue to see the warning from Pylint within VS Code.

Message category mapping

The Python extension maps all Prospector errors and warnings to the Error (E) category.

Flake8

Visual Studio C# Linter

Command-line arguments and configuration files

See Invoking Flake8 for general switches. For example, to ignore error E303 (too many blank lines), use the following setting:

By default, Flake8 ignores E121, E123, E126, E226, E24, and E704.

Flake8 user options are read from the C:Users<username>.flake8 (Windows) or ~/.config/flake8 (macOS/Linux) file.

At the project level, options are read from the [flake8] section of a tox.ini, setup.cfg, or .flake8 file.

For details, see Flake8 configuration.

Message category mapping

The Python extension maps flake8 message categories to VS Code categories through the following settings. If desired, change the setting to change the mapping.

Flake8 categoryApplicable setting
(python.linting.)
VS Code category mapping
Fflake8CategorySeverity.FError
Eflake8CategorySeverity.EError
Wflake8CategorySeverity.WWarning

mypy

Message category mapping

The Python extension maps mypy message categories to VS Code categories through the following settings. If desired, change the setting to change the mapping.

mypy categoryApplicable setting
(python.linting.)
VS Code category mapping
errormypyCategorySeverity.errorError
notemypyCategorySeverity.noteInformation

Troubleshooting linting

Error messageCauseSolution
... unable to import <module_name>The Python extension is using the wrong version of Pylint.Ensure that the pythonPath setting points to a valid Python installation where Pylint is installed. Alternately, set the python.linting.pylintPath to an appropriate version of Pylint for the Python interpreter being used.
Linting with <linter> failed ...The path to the Python interpreter is incorrect.Check the pythonPath setting (see Environments).
The linter has not been installed in the current Python environment.Open a command window, navigate to the location of the Python interpreter in the pythonPath setting, and run pip install for the linter.
The path to the linter is incorrect.Ensure that the appropriate python.linting.<linter>Path setting for the linter is correct.
Custom arguments are defined incorrectly.Check the appropriate python.linting.<linter>Args settings, and that the value of the setting is a list of the argument elements that are separated by spaces. For example, 'python.linting.pylintPath': 'pylint --load-plugins pylint_django' is incorrect. The correct syntax is 'python.linting.pylintArgs': ['--load-plugins', 'pylint_django'].

Next steps

  • Debugging - Learn to debug Python both locally and remotely.
  • Testing - Configure test environments and discover, run, and debug tests.
  • Basic Editing - Learn about the powerful VS Code editor.
  • Code Navigation - Move quickly through your source code.

I’m obviously a big fan of using coding standards whenever you’re writing server-side code (regardless of it being WordPress, PSR2, or whatever else – as long as you’re using something, I think it’s a good thing).

But when it comes to writing client-side code, namely JavaScript for this post, we don’t see it discussed as much though I think of it as being as equally important. Same goes for CSS, Sass, or LESS, but that’s content for another post.

For recent projects, we’ve been using Airbnb JavaScript Style guide for our projects. I’m a fan and think it helps to write clean, readable JavaScript (that looks as if it’s been written by the same person – the ultimate goal of coding standards, right?).

Linter Pylint Visual Studio Code

In this post, I’ll walk through the process of getting it setup in Visual Studio Code.

JavaScript linting in Visual Studio Code

This post assumes that you’re familiar with setting up the Node Package Manager on your local machine.

If you’re not, then I’ve got a guide for how to do that in this post. The shortcut? It’s literally as simple as this (once Homebrew is installed):

View the code on Gist.

Once you’ve got it set up (either by using said post or if it’s already set up), then you’ll be ready to move forward with actually installing the necessary tools to configure JavaScript linting in Visual Studio Code.

1. Installing ESLint

Say, for example, you’re running a project out of a directory called acme in your Projects directory in Dropbox. If that’s the case, then navigate to the plugins directory for said project. It will likely look something like this:

For here, you’ll need to install ESLint and the Airbnb configuration files. Luckily, it’s really easy to do. From the terminal, simply enter the following command:

I’m assuming that none of the above packages are already installed. If so, such as eslint, then you can remove that particular argument from the line above.

Furthermore, it’s important to understand that the eslint-plugin-import project is important for adding support for the importing and exporting of JavaScript modules.

2. The ESLint Configuration

There’s one more step needed before getting the configuration setup in Visual Studio Code. Namely, it’s a matter of creating an ESLint configuration file. From within the acme-plugin directory as shown above, enter the following command:

This will create an empty file (or empty dot-file as some may refer to it) and this is where our configuration will reference the Airbnb style guide.

In the file, simply add the following lines of configuration code:

Now that you have ESLint installed, you have a reference to the Airbnb Styleguide, and you have a reference to supporting additional syntax, it’s time to set up Visual Studio Code.

3. Setting Up Visual Studio Code

In my opinion, this is the easiest part. Open the extensions panel using whatever way suits you best (clicking on the icon or using the shortcut) and then run a search for ESLint. You may see several results, but the one you want is the one that looks like this:

Vs Linter

Install it and then reload Visual Studio code. It should be set in your Default Settings which you can confirm by opening the settings and looking for this piece of code:

If it’s not present, then you can add it to the User Settings (I’m not a fan of mucking with the default settings just in case you ever need to reset from a clean foundation).
Once this is defined, you’re good to go, and you should have your JavaScript linted while working on your project.

Javascript Linter Visual Studio Code

Other Package Managers?

Above, I’ve given an example of how to do this via Node; however, it’s also possible to achieve using Yarn. This is something that I plan tow rite about in the future, but since I’ve covered Node in a previous post, it seemed logical and easiest to follow that post up with this content for reference.

Visual Studio Code Edit Linter Rules

When it comes time for me to walk through using a different package manager, Yarn specifically, I’ll cover that, as well.